DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Elections/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Species 1 (Claims 1-4, 6-12 and 14-16) with traverse in the reply filed on 06/26/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground that " search and examination of the entire application could be made without serious burden.
See MPEP §803 in which it is stated that "if the search and examination of all the claims in an application can be made without serious burden, the examiner must examine them on the merits, even though they include claims to independent or distinct inventions. This is not found persuasive because there is a search and/or examination burden for the patentably distinct species as set forth above because at least the following reason(s) apply: The species 1-3 are differing in structure. For an example the species 1-3 are differing in elements arrangement. For an example the arrangement of the elements of figure 2 [see elements 3a to 3e] is different from what is shown in figure 6, and different from [elements 8a to 8e] of figure 8.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, a second area where the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other in the second connection portion is larger than a first area where the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other in the first connection portion as claimed in claim 1 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121 (d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as "amended." If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either "Replacement Sheet" or "New Sheet" pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6, 9-12, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kazuta (US 20210020357 A1).
Regarding Claim 1:
Kazuta teaches that a multilayer coil component comprising:
an element body (2, Fig. 1; para 0030-0048) including a main surface (2f) and a
pair of side surfaces (2d, 2e) adjacent the main surface and opposing each other;
a coil (8, Fig. 3) in the element body including a plurality of coil conductors (23-28; Fig. 2) that are disposed in a direction (D3) in which the pair of side surfaces oppose each other and are electrically connected to each other; and
a pair of external electrodes (4-5) each including a main-surface electrode portion (A1-A2; Fig. 3) on the main surface and electrically connected to the coil,
wherein
the coil includes a plurality of connection portions (3a-3e, Drawing: 1)) each at which adjacent coil conductors of the plurality of coil conductors are electrically
connected to each other and the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other in the direction in which the pair of side surfaces oppose each other,
the plurality of connection portions include a first connection portion (3a-3c; Drawing: 1) and a second connection (3d, 3e: Drawing: 1) portion that is farther from the main-surface (construed from Drawing: 1) electrode portion than the first connection portion, and
a second area (A11; Drawing: 1) where the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other in the second connection portion is larger than a first area (A12; Drawing: 1) where the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other in the first connection portion (Construed from Drawing: 1).
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Drawing: 1, an annotated version of Fig. 3
Regarding Claim 2, 10:
As applied to claim 1, and 9, Kazuta teaches that the element body includes another main surface opposing the main surface, the main surface includes a first region (A21; Drawing: 1) and a second region (A22; Drawing: 1) closer to the other main surface than the first region, and the main-surface electrode portion is disposed on the second region.
Regarding Claim 3, 11:
As applied to claim 1, and 9, Kazuta teaches that the element body includes a pair of end surfaces (2a-2b, Fig. 1) adjacent to the main surface and the pair of side surfaces, each of the pair of external electrodes includes an end-surface electrode portion on a corresponding end surface of the pair of end surfaces (construed from Fig. 1).
Regarding Claim 4, 12:
As applied to claim 3 and 11, Kazuta teaches that a connection conductor (27, Fig. 2) between the end-surface electrode portion and the coil, the connection conductor electrically connecting the end-surface electrode portion and the coil.
Regarding Claim 6, 14:
As applied to claim 1 and 9, Kazuta teaches that the adjacent coil conductors are continuous with each other at each of the plurality of the connection portions (construed from Fig. 2).
Regarding Claim 9:
Kazuta teaches that a multilayer coil component comprising:
an element body (2, Fig. 1; para 0030-0048) including a main surface (2f) and
a coil (8, Fig. 3) in the element body including a plurality of coil conductors (23-28; Fig. 2) that are electrically connected to each other; and
a pair of external electrodes (4-5) each including a main-surface electrode portion (A1-A2; Fig. 3) on the main surface and electrically connected to the coil,
wherein
the coil includes a plurality of connection portions (3a-3e, Drawing: 1)) each at which adjacent coil conductors of the plurality of coil conductors are electrically
connected to each other and the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other and
the plurality of connection portions include
a first connection portion (3a-3c; Drawing: 1) that has a first area (A12; Drawing: 1) where the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other
and
a second connection (3d, 3e: Drawing: 1) portion that is farther from the main-surface (construed from Drawing: 1) electrode portion than the first connection portion, and has a second area (A11; Drawing: 1) larger than the first area and where the adjacent coil conductors overlap each other Construed from Drawing: 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-8 and 15-16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 7 and 15 recites, the plurality of connection portions include a first group including a plurality of the first connection portions and a second group including a plurality of the second connection portions, and a sum of the second areas in the second group is larger than a sum of the first areas in the first group.
Claim 8 and 16 recites, the plurality of connection portions include: a third group including a plurality of the first connection portions adjacent to at least one of the main-surface electrode portion and the end-surface electrode portion; and a fourth group including a plurality of the second connection portions excluding the first connection portion, and a sum of the second areas in the fourth group is larger than a sum of the first areas in the third group
The references of record do not teach or suggest the aforementioned limitations, nor would it be obvious to modify those references to include such limitations.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. A list of pertinent prior art is attached in form 892.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kazi Hossain whose telephone number is 571-272-8182. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday from Monday to Thursday 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (EST).
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/KAZI HOSSAIN/
Examiner, Art Unit 2837
/MALCOLM BARNES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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